Recommendations for a Dedicated HT Room

[RajithKumar]

Hello Guys..
So as the title says, i need some suggestions for a dedicated HT room. The construction will start in a month or so, so i think this is the right time to ask about it.
The layout will be a 7.2.4 system, or possibly a 7.4.4 system but thats far away.
I plan to add a projector in future, maybe 1 or 1.5 years from now ( Native 4k and they are costly so the wait time )
We are 4 people in the family ( My wife and parents ) so there will be 4 recliners.
The Room, by default will be 18*12 feet in dimensions and i can add extra 3 feet and make it 21*12 feet with extra expense of 36k.
The Room will have no windows and a door for entry/exit.
My current setup is a 3.1 system with a Marantz 6013, 65 inch 4k screen, Nvidia Shield, Q Acoustics 3050i and 3090Ci and a XTZ12.17 edge sub.
So there a few things i want to ask.
First is,
1. Do i need to extend the room to 21 feet with the extra expense of 36k ? Considering there are four people to watch and the future has a Projector with the screen size of a minimum of 120 inches to 150 inches ?

2. What should be the height of the ceiling ? In regard to Atmos Channels.

3. Do i need to paint the walls black ? There will be no windows so the room will be dark enough with the white too, i guess.

4. Anything i need to do with the flooring ?

I think this is it for now..
Any kind of help will be appreciated
Thank You

• As suggested offline, If u wish for 2 row seating ,then the extension of room is worth ,otherwise not.
• Always remember there is relation ship between the screen size and ur listening distance .
• Try to set ur Front speakers at an included angle of 60 degree. So if you place your Front speakers say 11 feet apart (as your room width is 12 feet) ,its better to set your main listenig distance at 11 feet to form an equilateral triangle.This will have good front sound stage.
• So based on this ,your screen distance shall be 110" max .
• The JVC NX7 pj is best in class ,also the sony 290 es is very good though but both are at different level and pricing .Try getting pj with Indian warranty(.Sony generally offers 2 years warranty,JVC u may need to check it)
• The front wall shall be in black to have a better viewing experince ,the remaining walls can be grey or preferably dark colours.
• For flooring full room carpeting is better.
• Room Acoustics treatment is an important factor to consider.
• A minimum of 2 subs (similar model) is recommended .If you go beyond 2 subs then a minidsp with UMIK is recommended for time/phase aligment and REW filtering options etc.,
• If u wish for reference level hearing and have good budget then an additional multichannel ( 5 channel power amp of minimum 250 watts /channel @ 6 ohms ) is recomended.May in future also this will help.
• For Atmos channel speakers it can be mounted at 45 degree on either side (front and rear )from your main listening position ear height on ceiling.

 

[prateekatasniya]

With speakers very close to side walls, like keeping 11 feet apart will lead to SBIR.
As the room width is fixed feel increasing the room length doesn't make sense, as the first row has to be closer to the screen to get appropriate angle of view and also appropriate angle for the left and right speakers.

 

[manoj.p]

I think you should be able to get 150 inch diagonal screen in that room. Just to give perspective - My room is similar to yours (13x20 ft) and I also have two rows with 150 in diagonal screen.
you can use an acoustic transparent screen and put the LCR/subwoofers behind screen. This gives a nice, clean look at the front and not have to look at the equipment.

you are spending good amount of money, so definitively plan things out and proceed. Lay out screen, LCR, projector, seats, room treatments and you will start getting a picture of what will be possible and what won’t.

 

[manoj.p]

Prateek brought up a good point of SBIR. If you go with acoustic transparent screen, you can go one step ahead and baffle mount speakers. No more SBIR.

 

[prateekatasniya]

Prateek brought up a good point of SBIR. If you go with acoustic transparent screen, you can go one step ahead and baffle mount speakers. No more SBIR.

Speaker sensitivity low for Acoustically transparent screen and also the fact to consider is AVR used to power speaker.

 

[RajithKumar]

With speakers very close to side walls, like keeping 11 feet apart will lead to SBIR.
As the room width is fixed feel increasing the room length doesn't make sense, as the first row has to be closer to the screen to get appropriate angle of view and also appropriate angle for the left and right speakers.

Well SBIR is a valid point ,the speaker position can be brought little bit away from wall to avoid that effect if prefred by FM .But I beleive that can be still corrected with proper acoustics .Moreover I understand it will be maily used for HT where the Subwoofer can be given more preference for proper locations based on room modes to avoid major peaks & nulls.
Whats your opinion on this.
Also Its not practical and not a good move in accomodating this FS behind AT screen .
If FM wishes AT screen then the LCR needs to be properly chosen accordingly.

 

[Tuhin Lavania]

How about i buy the Projector first ? Project the image on the wall and then decide what size will look best, considering everything like seating distance, speaker placements and all ?
That way i can decide what screen size to go for. 120, 100 or 135 etc.

 

[prateekatasniya]

Well SBIR is a valid point ,the speaker position can be brought little bit away from wall to avoid that effect if prefred by FM .But I beleive that can be still corrected with proper acoustics .Moreover I understand it will be maily used for HT where the Subwoofer can be given more preference for proper locations based on room modes to avoid major peaks & nulls.
Whats your opinion on this.
Also Its not practical and not a good move in accomodating this FS behind AT screen .
If FM wishes AT screen then the LCR needs to be properly chosen accordingly.

Many things in a HT are interlinked.. sticking to a particular thought..
Screen is this case, can ruin the whole HT or may lead to unnecessary expenditure.

And yeah.. subwoofer is the most critical component of a good HT. And so, Bad placement can completely ruin the experience no matter how good the subwoofer is.

 

[prateekatasniya]

How about i buy the Projector first ? Project the image on the wall and then decide what size will look best, considering everything like seating distance, speaker placements and all ?
That way i can decide what screen size to go for. 120, 100 or 135 etc.

Its not just the screen size and projection to consider..
Even the LCR placement, Seat location- to avoid nulls ( subwoofer frequency response) etc has to be considered.

 

[manoj.p]

Speaker sensitivity low for Acoustically transparent screen and also the fact to consider is AVR used to power speaker.

I wouldn’t worry about speaker sensitivity as much. You get dB loss due to acoustic transparent screens, but that’s at higher frequencies. Those are easy to drive and can be taken care of by volume up. The AVR eq software can handle it without problem.
If it indeed is a big problem, then better to select another speaker/AVR combo and go with screen of his choice. He apparently wants big screen and that will always bug him afterwards.

 

[RajithKumar]

Many things in a HT are interlinked.. sticking to a particular thought..
Screen is this case, can ruin the whole HT or may lead to unnecessary expenditure.

And yeah.. subwoofer is the most critical component of a good HT. And so, Bad placement can completely ruin the experience no matter how good the subwoofer is.

Yes..some of FM suggested to have him 135",150" size etc., But IMO that may become like- for example. sitting and watching movies in front few rows of IMAX theater .
I prefer to have screen size based on our Main listening position distance.

 

[prateekatasniya]

I wouldn’t worry about speaker sensitivity as much. You get dB loss due to acoustic transparent screens, but that’s at higher frequencies. Those are easy to drive and can be taken care of by volume up. The AVR eq software can handle it without problem.
If it indeed is a big problem, then better to select another speaker/AVR combo and go with screen of his choice. He apparently wants big screen and that will always bug him afterwards.

He already has a speaker and AVR.
Longer distance and AT SCREEN both demands higher SPL.
And more SPL demand in this case will surely result in higher distortion.

If big screen is more important than complete movie experience then he should go for big screen without thinking about anything else.

 

[manoj.p]

Agree.
Ultimately, it’s his preference and choices.

To OP: In my opinion, the best audio/video experience is in hearing the audio and seeing the video. Plan your theater so you will see less of equipment and focus on how to get best performance.

 

[prateekatasniya]

Home Theatre is about setting up as per standards and not preferences..
Because guidelines are formed to provide best experience..

 

[manoj.p]

Ok

 

[elangoas]

Any kind of help will be appreciated

+1 to manoj.p suggestions..

Defnetly AT screen, with L-C-R and subwoofers behind screen and also can hide acoustics neatly.. I have been using AT screen in my set-up, with only center channel behind the screen and it has been a great experience..

If it is dedicated room, paint it black (or) other dark colours..

If you like big screen size, just go for it.. You can always reduce/adjust the image size, by shifting the projector if you feel it is too big.. Re doing the bigger screen is tedious task..

I recently did an 160 inch AT screen for my brother with L-C-R behind screen and he watches it from approx 15ft from the screen comfortably.. No issues..

If you have planned for false ceiling, then in-ceiling speakers should work easily..

And yes, get a power amp to power the additional channels or to off-load the AVR for main (or) more channels.. Two subs (identical) upfront should be good start..

 

[Tuhin Lavania]

+1 to manoj.p suggestions..

Defnetly AT screen, with L-C-R and subwoofers behind screen and also can hide acoustics neatly.. I have been using AT screen in my set-up, with only center channel behind the screen and it has been a great experience..

If it is dedicated room, paint it black (or) other dark colours..

If you like big screen size, just go for it.. You can always reduce/adjust the image size, by shifting the projector if you feel it is too big.. Re doing the bigger screen is tedious task..

I recently did an 160 inch AT screen for my brother with L-C-R behind screen and he watches it from approx 15ft from the screen comfortably.. No issues..

If you have planned for false ceiling, then in-ceiling speakers should work easily..

And yes, get a power amp to power the additional channels or to off-load the AVR for main (or) more channels.. Two subs (identical) upfront should be good start..

Which power amp do you suggest ? Considering the 3050i can handle 165W of power.
I was thinking of a 5 channel amp, mainly Parasound Halo but then got concerned its a overkill and might blow up the speakers due to extra power ?

 

[Love4sound]

Which power amp do you suggest ? Considering the 3050i can handle 165W of power.
I was thinking of a 5 channel amp, mainly Parasound Halo but then got concerned its a overkill and might blow up the speakers due to extra power ?

As long as you don’t drive the speakers at clipping level it is fine.

 

[elangoas]

Which power amp do you suggest ? Considering the 3050i can handle 165W of power.

I have been using both Sonodyne DE 4370 ( 8 - channel) 52K & Sonodyne SRT 4200 ( 4- channel) 57K, for sometime and it has been good.. You may consider it, if you like the pricing and features.. There is Emotiva too if you are looking for something on budget side..

I was thinking of a 5 channel amp, mainly Parasound Halo but then got concerned its a overkill and might blow up the speakers due to extra power ?

Extra power from the power amp wouldn't blow up the speakers until & unless they are not calibrated and pushed to extreme levels..

 

[manoj.p]

I have been using crown CT8150 for last 4 years or so. It’s a digital amp, and drives 8 speakers of mine without a problem.